Well after a glorious sunny bank holiday a few weeks ago, it had all gone down hill since then and my plans to hike around Snowdon have been put on temporary hold until the weather man says so. I don’t mind a bit of rain here and there (hail in the face for four hours..not so good) and have spent many snug nights in the tent whilst mother nature gets whatever was bugging her, off her chest.
Here’s the webcam shot of Mnt Snowdon during that lovely bank holiday weather. Perfectly clear and a pockest of snow to to make one feel like a proper explorer.
Same webcam on the day I going planning on setting up camp. Not too bad I guess, but would it clear and reveal those beautiful views you get at the summit?
That’ll be a no then.
My backup plan was the Lakes and the area around Scarfell (or possibly Glen Coe in Scotland) but quite frankly no matter where you went, it was rain followed by rain with a side order of ‘dammit the tent floating away’. No worries though I’ll try again in another few weeks, but to get some miles the boots I went out rambles around the Peak District.
Strolling around Hope Valley.
Have a cuppa and not a soul for hours.
Clear blue skies ahead although behind me wasn’t looking to good. The wind was keeping it over Mam Tor and Castleton way and I could see from here that they were getting a right soaking.
Was that thunder?
Exploring one of the many gullies.
Back up top and I get caught in a sharp n fast hail storm. Thankfully I had my back to it unlike the two chaps I passed going the other way. Poor fella’s!
Back to the car without getting caught in the rain, fully walked out and with a great twisty valley road ahead of me to test out my new car.
Phew, it’s been a hectic few weeks both at work and at home and now that the sun has finally got his best hat on (for a week ) , a good portion of game time has been swapped for gardening time and man-cave swapped for greenhouse. One plant I’m growing for fun this year could be considered a game of sort as when fully ripe and touched in the wrong place, ‘exploding cucumbers’ quite literally explode….and quiet violently too as they throw out their seeds at speed. Missile Command in the greenhouse? What I’m hoping to do is capture some of them on my camera as it has a video mode at super slo-mo 1000 frames per second.
Plans for this (bank) holiday weekend was to spend a little time putting the the final touches together on my MAME arcade cabinet but I’ve had delay this as more importantly, we’ve been out looking for a new car (the last becoming very unreliable and mechanic bills rocketing).
I take delivery of one next week which just in the nick of time really, as I was heading out next weekend for a spot of camping and hiking in Wales and then the weekend afterwards back out west to the the ultra geek-fest retro gaming event of the year Retro Revival. Quite a few friends have been busy these past few months and I think the consensus is, that everyone is looking forward to a huge slice of downtime at Revival with plenty laughs and massive intake of retro gaming.
The lists of attending pinball tables and arcade machines keep growing as do some items of note that I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing before. The list of arcade machines also includes seven colourful Zaccaria cabinets including a Phoenix cab just like my own – accept this one is fully restored. I’m also looking forward to checking out event co-creator Chris’s own Zac cabs including his highly impressive Super Cobra cab like this one.
Game time of late has been a little light and have a stack of titles I want to get through including all of the entries and winners for this years C64 Seuck Compo (i did try the twin stick Spy Rider a few weeks ago which was superb), a couple of Atari 2600, I picked up on eBay as well as thirty Sega MS carts I managed to bag for just £10. Fez came out for PC the other day which is also on the list as well as Sturmwind although this hasn’t arrived yet.
I have, however been looking at early video games from Capsule Computers after reading an article charting the rise of some of the biggest video game producers and am finding there first video game Vulgus to be quiet addictive despite being a little bland.
Any-ho, that me done. I hope, you’ve been getting in more retro gaming than I have and if you happened to be popping a long to Revival, maybe I’ll bump into you over in the Retro Computer Museum area?
Sturmwind for the Sega Dreamcast has finally been release and so with any luck my order should be making it’s merry way to me soon.
What is Sturmwind? Well, it’s an independant, classic arcade shooter written by Duranik for the Dreamcast catering for the league of fans still devoted to Sega’s last console.
Check out the features list –
16 Levels
3 selectable difficulty levels
configurable controls
adjustable screen position
different weapons selectable
more than 20 large bossenemies
hundreds of different enemies
FMV intro sequence
hybrid 2d/3d game engine
resolution 640×480
PAL50, PAL60, NTSC and VGA (with Adapter) compatible
region free
works with any MIL-CD compatible Dreamcast
CDDA Sound
supports: Joypad, Arcade Stick (Analog/Digital), VMU, Rumble Pack (configurable)
internet WEBcode Hiscore Tables
award Trophy System with unlockable content
SD card support
It’s been a very bumpy ride for Sturmwind, and amongst the frequent setbacks and release dates, I was beginning to think we’d never see it…and what a shame it would have been too because just look at it!
Not bad for a (nearly) 15 year old games console!
So until the postie arrives with package of awesome-ness, this weekend the Dreamcast hits the geek desk because a) its been a while since I’ve used it and it needs a good test – I’d been gutted if Sturmwind arrives only to find my DC has croaked, b) Retro Revival is next month and I’m sure that if myself and fellow RCM chums happen to come across a Dreamcast, then they’ll be plenty of Soul Calibre shenanigans and I could do with a spot of practise (shh, tell no one) and finally c) I’ve had a new bit of Dreamcast kit in my desk drawer for the past six months and haven’t actually tried it out yet!
This afternoon I’ve been working on the coin mechanism for my Mame arcade machine.
On my Phoenix cabinet, the coin mechanism is all mechanical. As the coin travels through the mechanism, it rolls past and pushes a metal bar which in turn is connected to switch that registers a credit. As the switch is nothing more than a standard microswitch, it was really easy to simply connect this to the coin terminals on my ipac to allow for it to work in Mame.
However, moving over to this second cabinet, the coin mechanism is an all electronic affair and at fIrst, I didn’t think I could do anything with it…other that fabricate the same sort of metal bar/switch setup at the exit of the coin chute.
As always, the Internet is full of useful tips and after finding videos and documentation for this type of coin door, I thought I’d have a go at wiring this to my PC.
Mars MS coin mech….I’m not sure if this is a model 111 or 102 though.
The control board requires a 12v feed therefore i’ll supply this via my PC’s 12v line taken from one of the spare Molex HDD power sockets. To make it easy when disconnect the coin mech, say for example If I need to bring the PC into the house, I’m going to use a spare 4-pin molex to SATA extension cable I have in my spares.
The SATA end won’t be needed though, so this gets the snip.
I’ve taken the the 12v and ground feed from the coin mech and attached it to the PC cable via a simple termination block.
I’ve also taken the two wires from the credit terminals and wired the positive to the ‘coin’ input on my IPAC and the other to the IPAC ground wiring loom. Originally I had the coin button wired to the Player Two Start button on the Control Panel, but I’ve now returned it to it’s proper function – Two Player Start.
Should I need to bypass the coin door, in the event of being caught short of coins, I’ve found a handy IPAC shortcut sequence in Mame to simulate a coin insert – Basically you hold down one player start button & press fire button number 1….man, you’ve gotta love the shift key functions on these IPAC’s!
All good to go for testing and so I thought I’d make a quick video as I went along.
I’m quite pleased with how it turned out and will have to experiment more with the DIP switches to see what they other settings do. Certain coins that are shiny new don’t seem to work as well as older coins, maybe the reflection messes around with the coin validator?
Next I want to remove both of the doors, disconnect the mechanism, chute and locks, give them a rub down to get rid of the flaking paint and apply a fresh coat of Hammerite Black paint to make them look all new again.
That’s about all I got done this afternoon as I called my older brother and nephew on the phone to see if they fancied popping around to give my cab a play test. My nephew is a modern COD, Xbox PS3, sorta player but he was getting quite into Metal Slug and it was so cool to be playing side by side with my older brother once again, just like we back in the old days with some 2-up classics like Salamander, Double Dragon and Bubble Bobble.
With all the shenanigans of converting the Jamma arcade machine to a Mame cab just lately, coin-op games have been the staple of this week retro gaming and two classic shooters i’ve re-re-revisiting time and again are in –
Phoenix – Centuri (1980)
Pure nostalgia this one – When I think back to early arcade gaming the first game that springs to mind is Phoenix. Back in the day, it was pretty common to see an upright or cocktail cab in the corners of cafes, student clubs and chip shops. The one I remember the most was in a greasy spoon cafe not too far away from the school yard. It was an upright Centuri cab complete with that terrible faux wood paneling, but despite is looking awful, was incredibly popular during lunch (and unofficial) break.
Being the only game in the cafe, the unspoken rule was one credit if there was a queue behind you and owner of the cafe would jot down the scores and would offer free lunch to the highest monthly score.
I’ve only got to hear ‘Romance de Amor’ and I can picture the starfield scrolling down ready for the first wave of attacking birds and then onto the button bashing finale as you punch a hole through the orange defence shield of momma bird – surely a good test of a new arcade build. I play Pheonix and I’m transported back to that cafe on a Friday lunchtime happy in knowledge that the weekend was just around the corner. Bacon sandwich anyone?
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Here’s the second classic shooter i’ve been playing a lot of this week, and another that I used to drop so many pocket money coins into.
Moon Cresta – Nitchibutsu (1980)
As with Phoenix, the aim is to blast away at everything whilst trying not to get hit yourself. There’s no boss stage with Moon Cresta but after clearing a few stages, you get the chance to upgrade your ships single laser gun by docking with another craft. Sadly the trade off is that your ship is now much bigger therefore so watch that incoming fire!
I may have lost ship one, but two and three docked together makes for one mighty ship.
Moon Cresta is also one handful of games that I could recognise straight away by just one sound effect, the laser fire FX is so memorable!
Incidentally, if you fancy looking at some of home computer conversions, the ZX Spectrum version is almost arcade perfect in gameplay. Sadly the sound effects are a bit feeble.
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Setting up my emulation PC for the Mame cabinet meant transferring a hefty amount of data from my NAS and so to pass the time, I’d got my Commodore Plus/4 setup on the geek desk for a spot of gaming whist I waited. Here’s two games I keep returning too, the first being a conversion of a classic coin-op
Moon Buggy – Anirog (1985)
Moon Buggy was ported to many systems including countless clones and I’ve probably played more versions of this game than I can remember – Some are great and many are really poor. The Plus/4 – Commodore 16 version by Anirog is extremely playable though and a faithful conversion of the arcade classic. The difficulty curve, I think, is just right, starting off nice n easy and then gently increasing and rewards those who dare jump early or late.
The aim off the game is to patrol the the surface of the moon and destroy all invaders you encounter. You moon buggy is equipped with forward facing and surface to air guns as well as jump jets to propel yourself over the many craters and rocks you’ll encounter along the way.
Timing your shots, speed and jump jets is critical to completing a stage as well as keeping an eye on the ground and in the air….yep, lots to do!
Graphically it looks rather nice too with just a hint of parallax scrolling on the background and although your buggy is a simply drawn, this version does have the signature wheel explosions if you happen to fall foul of any lunar obstacles.
I think the only critisim i have is the high pitched sound FX of the enemy can sometimes become tiresome but apart from that, top notch 1/6th gravity fun.
Anirog have produced some great game covers, Moon Buggy is certainly one of them.
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Another Plus/4 game I’ve been playing is one that was only released a few years ago..you’ve gotta love the retro gaming community!
Adventures in time – Psytronic (2010)
It’s one of those games that you’re either going to love or loath due to its necessity on the pixel perfect jump…or leap into the unknown.
Give it time though and once you start to learn the layout of a few screens and the enemy patterns Adventures in Time certainly starts to grow on you and for a Plus/4 game, it looks incredible good too and has some of the best music i’ve heard coming from the TED.
I was first introduced to this last year at a Retro Event in Derby by Chris http://www.commodore16.com/ Snowdon (here’s hoping there’s going to be another one) and have been meaning to sit down with this again whenever I had the Plus/4 setup again.
A great game which all C16/plus4 owners should try.
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On to another game that’s starting to grow on me despite a fustrating start.
Gem Chaser – ZX Spectrum (2013)
There’s been a raft of new games released over at World of Spectrum and this one from a few weeks ago. It’s a remake of an indie Xbox game and all you have to do is run/jump your block around the level collecting the coloured blocks before the timer runs out. Sounds easy right?
Well, you can only collect a coloured block that matches your own colour. Failure to do so will result in a time penalty and as time is very short, you don’t want to be doing that very often.
To change your blocks colour, you need to pass through one of portals dotted around the screen. The trick to completing the level is to figure out the least timing consuming route and not to spend too much time running around haphazard.
Try not to destroy your vintage ZX Spectrum after the frustration this game will bring
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I was reading a review of a this particular game in this months edition of Retro Gamingtimes Monthly and thought i’d revisit on a the system I’d first played it on.
Pooyan – Konami (1982)
Pooyan is one of those games that i’ve heard about for many years but have not actually played it. Last year I was at one of the the Retro Computer Museum events and sat down to a system likewise that really didn’t know too much about either. Said system was the Sord M5 and it so happened to have a Pooyan cartridge loaded.
Suffice to say, I really enjoyed it and have since sourced a copy for my NES…..no chance of owning a Sord M5 myself though as they appear to be quite the collectable and demand a hefty price.
Momma Bear in basket, fires arrows at balloonist wolves……huh?
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….,and finally, after the sad announcement and closure of Lucasarts annouced a few weeks ago, I’ve been looking back at some of their classic adventures on PC and Amiga. This week it’s the four disk Amiga version of ‘Threepwood’s island of Monkey secrets’….or something to that effect
It’s looks like after many requests for iCade controller support by the fans of the Pinball Arcade iOS app, last nights update includes this much welcome addition.
You’ll need to activate iCade support first, which is lurking at the bottom of the main menu options screen….it took me a while to find it!
With that done, you can now navigate the menus etc with your iCade.
The button mapping is pretty good too, the flippers are spaced on the far left and right of the iCade buttons (on mine it’s the bottom white and bottom red button) with tilt and extra controls using the middle four buttons. For those tables with a classic plunger, pulling down on the joystick will launch the ball.
And I’m please to find that the iCade support also extends to the 8-Bitty controller too.
Sadly the buttons are a little mixed up as the flipper buttons use the top left shoulder button and one of the standard red fire buttons (bottom left). It’s a shame that both top shoulder buttons couldn’t be used although after a while you do get used to them. I suppose there’s always Blutrol if you want to customise yourself?
I’ve not tried the iCade Jnr on my iPhone yet but I’d be pretty confident in guessing that it’ll work too.
The Internet is already displaying fan made iCade/pinball modifications using the Blutrol app, but having native iCade support means that you can mod away without having to Jailbreak your device.
I don’t think I’m wanting to drill into my own iCade just yet though but an idea is forming for my own pinball mod.
And finally, this latest app update also brings another classic 80′s table – Space Shuttle (Williams) with promise of more vintage tables to follow. My vote is on Meteor please.
With the the Mame PC and CP pretty much finished now I thought I’d spend the afternoon getting the marquee light and speakers installed.
Before doing all that though, I need to trace some of the original wiring as there’s a few bits and bobs that I’ll reuse and other parts such as most of the Jamma harness and power supply needs removing. Regarding the PSU, it’s fully working although I don’t have a use for myself I’m sure there’s someone on the Jamma+ forum that will find a use for it.
I’ve cut away the old tie wraps from the metal staples securing the original cables in place. Once I know which wires I’ll be reusing plus my own wiring I’ll re affix fresh tie wraps to keep it all nice and tidy again.
…but first we have to make a mess to sort this lot out!
eeek, the Jamma monsters got me!
I’ve retained the original arcade power switch that’s found on the external back side of the cabinet. I plan to rewire this to the PC power switch allowing me to switch it on without having to remove the cabinets rear panel.
I’ve also found the original alarm button too and although I won’t be reusing it, it’s quite interesting how it works. Basically, when the rear panel is fitted, the panel presses up against a switch. If a thief tries to remove the back panel (thinking it an easy way to get to the coin box) the button is released, alarm bells ring and everyone goes mental etc etc.
That’s the wiring sorted out for this stage so time to have a looksee at what’s lurking behind the marquee panel.
I’ve removed the screws that hold the marquee clip in place and gently moved it out of the way as I had no idea the marquee was actually glass…I’d always assumed that most were perspex.
Like the game board, the marquee assembly is fitted to a single piece of wood that slides out on two guide rails either side of the cabinet. I must say, the makers of this cabinet have made it really easy to get to all the serviceable parts which is why this particular build is becoming most enjoyable…unlike the unfriendly Phoenix cab.
A-ha, the burglar strikes again, someone’s nicked my right speaker Actually, looking at the wiring, I think this cabinet only ever had one speaker.
Having previously removed the light strip wires from the arcade PSU, and having checked the ratings on the transformer, I attached a regular plug and switched on the mains to test…..nothing. I’m not surprised though after lifting the florescent bulb out and there was definitely a hint of something loose inside.
To the DIY superstore!
Wow, it was super busy here, but as expected because after a late start, spring is finally here, the sun is out and folk are out in force buyinggardening toosl, lawnmowers and patio furniture. Thankfully, nobody was in the Arcade Machine building section…aka, the light bulb area, so I was able to get in and out before getting stuck at the checkout.
Back to the Man-Cave!
Fingers crossed and hoping that the starter motor wasn’t buggered, I flicked it on…and StiGGy said ‘Let there be light’
The PC speakers I intend to use are a cheap set from Logitech which I picked up the other day. They’re basic, no frills but the sound quality is surprising good with ample range from top to bottom. I tested these out on my PC running a few Mame games the other day and am very happy with them.
The speakers aren’t going to fit in the small area as is because the plastic casing is quite bulky. Out with a screwdriver and my dremel to crack them open.
It isn’t pretty, but now I can mount them to the speaker grills and have the volume control pointing downwards where I can get at it once I extend the shaft of the potentiometer behind the volume button….well that was my original idea for having external volume control but I’m finding it just as easy to adjust any game volume on the fly with Mame’s build in menu system. Still, the options there if I want a physical solution.
With all of the cables temporary wrapped up, I reseated the marquee board back into the cabinet, refitted the glass marquee and clips and finally switched it back on again to see what it looks like.
No too bad at all. Maybe in the future I’ll replace it with a actual classic game marquee but for the moment I’m really happy with this……
……although I’ve spotted a few areas (marked) where the marquee paint must have been scratched from behind as you can see light shining through. An easy fix though.
So that’s the light and sound sorted and the next bit on my list is getting the coin mechanism working.
Regarding the screen, I’m currently sourcing a nice curved 19″ PC CRT screen and may have a lead after speaking to a local lady via Freecyle who has one up for grabs. Until then, I’ve temporary fitted a TFT screen. …..yes yes I know, TFT screens in arcade machines are a no no, but with scan lines and Mame’s HSLS filtering, it doesn’t look that bad…if you squint a bit
So with the PC fitted and everything hooked up to test the speakers and controls etc…there’s no way I was going to finish off the day without firing up this bad boy for my very first game test.
MameWAH loaded and ready to Rock!
Yay, Twin-Stick awesome-ness with Robotron……I may be some time!
) , a good portion of game time has been swapped for gardening time and man-cave swapped for greenhouse. One plant I’m growing for fun this year could be considered a game of sort as when fully ripe and touched in the wrong place, ‘exploding cucumbers’ quite literally explode….and quiet violently too as they throw out their seeds at speed. Missile Command in the greenhouse? What I’m hoping to do is capture some of them on my camera as it has a video mode at super slo-mo 1000 frames per second.
